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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rule — government
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. field — a subject
  7. chip — for betting
  8. ball — a dance
  9. field — for sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. field — farmland
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. chip — to eat
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com